Celebrating Mother’s Day in the Bay Area

April Showers Bring May Flowers (for Mom!) 💐

For so many of us, the month of May is synonymous with Mom. Spring is officially here and with summer on the horizon, there are many opportunities to make the mother figures in your life feel special this month. Read on for all the details!

San Francisco

The Ferry Building ⛴ 

1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, California 94111

Give the gift of plant parenthood for Mother’s Day this year! The Ferry Building front plaza will be filled with a variety of rare indoor and outdoor plants from 10 AM – 4 PM for their monthly Gardeneur Plant Market pop-up event on May 8th.

Then, join the Ferry Building team for a ‘Ferry Family Day’ of gift making for mothers and mother figures! Create beautiful pop-up cards, jewelry, and flower crafts. Find the activity table across by Cholita Linda and Delica in the central Marketplace. This event is free and open to the public.

One Market Restaurant 🍲

1 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Although One Market won’t be open for Mother’s Day this year due to a private event, Chef Dommen has shared a Swiss family recipe stemming from his mom. Officially known as Zurcher Geschnetzeltes, the recipe instructs how to prepare a Zurich Style Veal in a Cream Sauce.

This is a very traditional dish that my mother would make quite often for dinner. However, veal wasn’t always available to us, so she would make it with pork loin or pork tenderloin. It’s really quite simple. I’ve changed it a little by using reduced chicken jus instead of flour as the thickening agent and I cut the amount of cream in half. It makes the dish lighter to eat and it’s gluten free. Geschnetzeltes is traditionally served with rösti (recipe also provided).

– Mark Dommen (Executive Chef, One Market Restaurant)

See the recipe for Mark’s Mom’s Zurcher Geschnetzeltes and Rösti here. 

International Smoke 🥘

301 Mission Street, San Francisco

Michael Mina & Ayesha Curry turn Mother’s Day into a weekend-long celebration, featuring two holiday specials alongside its a la carte dinner menu from May 6 – May 8. Specials include a Chicken & Waffle dish with crispy croquette, buttermilk waffle, pea tendrils and Sambal-maple syrup ($24) and an indulgent Maine Lobster Udon Carbonara with smoked pork belly, hen egg and parmesan ($42). Choose from the restaurant’s full menu and other International Smoke signatures like the Truffle Caesar, Wood-Fired Salmon, Maine Lobster Mac N Cheese and the Devil’s Food Dark Chocolate Cake. Make reservations here.

VILLON at the San Francisco Proper Hotel 🍸

1100 Market Street Hotel Entrance is at, 45 McAllister St, San Francisco, CA 94102

On Sunday, May 8th, join the San Francisco Proper for a very special Mother’s Day in their newly reopened restaurant, Villon, a sophisticated gathering place dressed in dramatic design. Enjoy a decadent brunch buffet by Executive Chef Jason Fox, featuring live stations and vegetarian options.

Villon’s Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet is priced at $115 per person. Featured Drinks: Bloody Mary & Mimosa Cart (for an additional fee). Reservations are available between 11am-4pm on OpenTable.

Canela Bistro and Wine Bar 🇪🇸 

2272 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Offer: Mom’s Night Off – Dinner Meal Kit to go: Feeds 4 – $195. Meal comes chilled with simple reheating instructions – so simple, even the kids can do it! Includes your choice of Truffled Mushroom Paella or Mixed Seafood Paella – comes in your very own paella pan to keep! (We’ll throw in a recipe so you can use it again!), bacon wrapped, cheese Stuffed Dates, Market St. Salad (butter lettuce, dried apricots, pickled green strawberries and carrots, cava vinaigrette, seed mix), Seasonal Tortilla Española and Strawberry Shortcake. Available in Canela’s store for pick-up or delivery Friday and Saturday May 6th and 7th from 3 p.m to 5 p.m.  Dine in and take out. 

Dinner Specials: Truffled Mushroom Paella , deviled eggs with smoked salmon, strawberry shortcake and a free gift for mom to take home! Homemade cookies – Mat’s mom’s recipe! Reservations here.

Wine and Retail Special: BOGO FOR MAMA! Buy one, get one half off – bottles of wine!  25% off the retail shop both online and in store. 

Lazy Susan 🥡

811 Ulloa St, San Francisco, CA 94127

For all the moms out there, Lazy Susan will be offering a condiment-duo gift (jar of Umami Crunch & jar of LS Sriracha) with all purchases of $30 or more through the extended Mother’s Day weekend (May 6-8th). All guests have to do is add the duo to their cart and apply the promo code “MomsRock” to receive the complimentary package. 

South Bay 

Aurum 🇮🇳

132 State St, Los Altos, CA 94022 

In Los Altos, Aurum will be celebrating moms with a $60 four course menu. In addition to the menu, moms will also be met upon entry with a special surprise! Vegetarian alternatives are available for all courses. Complete menu here.

Wild Onion Bistro & Bar 🌾

750 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Celebrate mom over Wild Onion’s new brunch menu, featuring all of her favorite dishes like Fresh Berry Pancakes, Challah French Toast with Bailey Irish Creme Anglaise and Wild Onion’s Eggs Benedict. All of Chef Ray Garrow’s brunch entrees include a choice of Mimosas or Michelada – a treat not just for mom! Cocktails do take center stage on the Wild Onion menu and mom can enjoy everything from Wild Onion’s Signature Tomatillo Bloody Mary, several kinds of Mimosas (Classic, Blood Orange and Hibiscus Ginger) or Bellini with peach, pear, raspberry and strawberry. Special offers for mom include a “mom-mosa bouquet” and a special gift from San Francisco’s SOMA Small Batch Goods. Reservations are available from 11am – 2pm here.

East Bay 

Alley & Vine 🌿

1332 Park St STE D, Alameda, CA 94501 

For Mother’s Day brunch (11:00am-2:30pm) on Sunday, May 8th, Alley & Vine will offer a three-course menu with multiple options including a special kids menu to satisfy all the young ones in tow. Look for celebratory standouts like Dungeness Crab Cake served with a caper remoulade and frisee salad and Manjari Chocolate Pot de Creme.

You can find the Mother’s Day brunch menu here ($55 per person) and Kids Mother’s Day menu here ($25 per child). Reservations available here.

Other Mother’s Day ideas:

Take mom on a hike and, afterwards, stop by any of Gott’s Roadside’s seven sunny Bay Area locations for a classic burger and a Frosé — a rosé slushie.

Make a reservation to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s new Into the Deep exhibit and come home with TCHO Chocolate’s limited-edition Deep, Dark & Salty bar, which was created for the exhibit using locally sourced sea lettuce and sea salt. The bar is available in the aquarium gift shop or online at TCHO.com.

Give your coffee-loving mom some beans from second-generation Italian coffee roaster Mr. Espresso. In addition to its award-winning whole beans, Mr. Espresso’s single-serving Steeped coffee, which can be steeped in hot water (like tea!), is an easy, sustainable way for younger kids to make a delicious cup of coffee for mom all by themselves.